Nonstop flight route between Midland/Bay City/Saginaw, Michigan, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MBS International Airport (MBS), Midland/Bay City/Saginaw, Michigan, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,667 miles (or 5,902 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between MBS International Airport and RAF Fairford, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between MBS International Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MBS International Airport (MBS):

• DAL Global Services operates ground handling duties for Delta and Delta Connection at MBS.
• Because of MBS International Airport's relatively low elevation of 668 feet, planes can take off or land at MBS International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The 1980s and 1990s saw a lot of growth at MBS.
• The furthest airport from MBS International Airport (MBS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,213 miles (18,046 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• MBS International Airport (MBS) has 2 runways.
• Air Wisconsin runs ground services for United Express.
• The closest airport to MBS International Airport (MBS) is Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport (MOP), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) W of MBS.
• In 2006 the Airport Commission announced it had approved plans for the construction of a new state-of-the-art passenger terminal.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.